New Teacher Mind Map

Back to school. Meetings and training before the students come back. We have some new teachers so I drew this one while we were discussing classroom environment. It just seemed right to make him into a mind map about the subject being discussed. He seemed like he was thinking about it. Peripherals, by the way, are any ancillary aspects of or in the classroom that contribute to the learning environment.

Loss of a giant

I just learned of the passing of Jim Chapin, the man who wrote the book on coordinated independence. I have to say that his book is the seminal work on drumset indentendant coordination. I discovered it in the early '70's and begged my teacher to walk me through it. Surprisingly, I introduced a student to this wonderful text only yesterday! Mr. Chapin's book is one of the finest drum books ever published and he is one of the most inspirational figures in drumset music. He is a shining example that you don't have to be a recording or performing star to be a profound and moving force in music. I don't have a single recording of Jim Chapin playing, however his book is one of the single most memorable and influential works in my library!

Amsterdam Percussion Group

So I saw this group on Youtube and, being a fan of Terry Bozzio and all things percussion, I had to have it. I searched and discovered no mention of it on Bozzio's website, or any of the DVD sources I normally use. I couldn't find any reviews either. I finally had to order it through the group's website. It took two months for them to finally ship it from Holland and with glee I popped it in the DVD player only to discover that something in the formatting prevents my system from reading it. "Cannot Play" flashes on the display. Fortunately it does play on my computer so it's not a total loss. The music is wonderful with compositions by Bozzio, Piazzolla, Zappa, and members of the group. Some of it is reminescent of Pierre Moerlen's Gong. This one will get many plays!